Photo: Cutacut
KARACHI: The recent coronavirus outbreak has certainly resulted in huge losses for many businesses and industries. Losses that will take years to recover from. On the other hand, the changing dynamics and limitations due to the pandemic have led to some innovations too. Things that one could not imagine before became the new normal. Life was confined within the four walls of the house yet a lot was accessible to us, thanks to digitization.
Combining technology with beauty, leading makeup brand Nabila is taking a step ahead. Makeup maestro Nabila Maqsood’s son Zakir Maqsood is introducing an app, called Team Nabila. The Team Nabila App is launching on October 1, according to Zakir. It will provide services – hair, makeup and bridal – to customers at the comfort of their homes. The philosophy is to minimize the effort and maximize the impact, the same as that for ZERO Makeup. Zakir is the Creative Director for ZERO.
“The Team Nabila App can be downloaded for free from Apple store or Android,” informed Zakir during a recent conversation with Cutacut. “We have a simplified menu as well as packages. You just need to sign up, choose the service just like you’re ordering food, book your time, enter your address and you’re done. You can pay with cash/credit card where safety and privacy is taken care of. As soon as you are finished booking, somebody will call you up for specifications.”
With a degree in fashion, marketing and communication, Zakir has experience teaching at the Intituto Europeo di Design in Barcelona where he used to conduct workshops on trend forecasting. The 35-year-old spent the last 13 years in Barcelona, Spain and has been gradually moving back to Pakistan in the last one year. Taking the legacy forward, Zakir is keen to evolve the Nabila brand into the next generation.
The mother-son duo got this all worked out between Karachi and Barcelona via zoom calls during the pandemic. Zakir shared that digital was in his DNA and the catalyst happened during the lockdown. “I think it’s now time for us to look inwards and grow outwards, accelerate and equip the business model for the future,” he reflected. “When everything shut down, we decided to accelerate the voice, the authority, the name Nabila and how we can use it. I needed to go where customers are the most comfortable (home) and spending most of their time (phone). What we have done is evolve the Nabila brand into the next generation, respecting the values on which the company is built: hard work, a standard, professionalism. But make it accessible to people and increase their reach.”
Zakir is certainly excited for the future of the app. He believes that they are thinking three to five years ahead with it. “There will be no hassle to commute for booking an appointment or to get services,” he explained. “It is easier to send gifts now and a group of people can have the stylist over and enjoy the process in their comfort zones.”
“I’m not looking at international standards, I’m looking at my own standards,” he furthered. “I don’t want to sell something that I wouldn’t buy myself. Any resource locally or from abroad aligns with the brand’s values, we’d have that onboard.”
